Revealing Nash: The True Beauty Of A TV Host

The first time I met Nash, she took over my photo booth installation at the CAPD Fundraiser Gala event to interview the organizers for her show (inside joke).

The second time was at Sustainable Style YYC where I recognized her and help her find her way through the event. We exchange cards and we soon were meeting over coffee and talking like a pair of "wet parrots" who needed to catch up on each other's lives and dreams as if we had found each other after a long separation.

As described by her husband, Nash is:

"smart, strong independent and tenacious, loving mother and wife. Great spirit and tender heart". 

When we talked about what Reveal Your True Beauty is about, she immediately fell in love with it and asked me if she could film us for her TV Show the next time we had a session. My answer was: 

"I don't think you'll get the grasp of what Reveal Your True Beauty REALLY, truly is, by filming someone else's session. YOU HAVE TO LIVE IT TO FEEL IT. What about we film Your session instead?"

She hesitated and got nervous but immediately shook herself out of it, puffed her chest and said with a nervous laugh: "Ok. Let's do this. I'm so nervous already!"

With the help of her faithful, professional and perfectionist videographer, Mauricio, from Amaca Productions, we began the little adventure of filming everything from beginning to end for her TV Show Conectate con Nash for OmniTV. 

The Result: A fun episode where you can experience through Nash's shoes a Reveal Your True Beauty Session, which you can watch below. Though must of it is in Spanish, english is spoken in some parts of it and language doesn't really affect the viewing experience but rather give you a better insight of it all, in case you were wondering of course (which I hope you were!).

NASH, FELA PHOTOGRAPHY REVELA TU VERDADERA BELLEZA from AMACA PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.


In Nash's words, the experience was:

"I have to share my wonderful experience with Fela Photography in this great project 'Reveal your true beauty'. Such an amazing way to help people feel like a super star! Since I had this experience I felt comfortable to wear different lipstick colors, try new fabrics and I learned about myself,;I recommend this experience :) thank you girls, you have a great project and a wonderful team!"

If you know Nash, share with us why you think she's a truly beautiful woman in the comments section below. Let her know how amazing she is in your eyes. Words of affirmation can go a long way.

The Joy Of Doing What You Love: Reflecting On The Past 2014

As any business owner will tell you, starting a business is filled with excitement, joy and hope. You are taking a leap of faith on what you're passionate about; is your newborn baby. But also as first time parents will admit, it comes with fears; Will I be good at it? What if I destroy my dream? What if it's too overwhelming? Will I burn out?

I started 2014 with all those thoughts. 2015 will be the 4th year my business as Fela Photography has been running, but it was 2014 that I consider the official run. Before 2014, Fela Photography was my job on the side, working full time and hoping that I would get enough clients to quit my day job and dip myself full time in Fela Photography; something I've been dreaming for too long. But being honest with myself, I wasn't putting the necessary elbow grease on it to make it happen, so obviously results were not showing much potential.

When I started my maternity leave in 2013, I knew I wanted to work from home so that I could be present in my son's life. It was something that was heavy in my heart. My son was the reason that made me put my self together and really start working on it so I decided that Fela Photography would have my deserved attention. It needed revamping though. Before, I was all over the place, grabbing any photography gig that would come my way and it was feeling kind of "blah". So with the guidance of Accelerator YYC I found my photography calling and that's when in 2014 the Reveal Your True Beauty project happened.

I felt vulnerable and scared at the beginning because Reveal Your True Beauty came from the heart and a personal experience. I had to pitch it to many people, many times and always with the fear that people would think it was a silly idea but I found support and encouragement which motivated me to keep going, even if it felt like I was running in circles. 

"I had to remind myself constantly that there is something beyond  money in the path I chose. There was the opportunity to help change women's lives, to impact positively in others, to use my skills/gift/talent for good".

When I was working my butt off (excuse my english) and didn't see much money coming in and a LOT leaving, I was worried and felt small and frustrated many times. I had to remind myself constantly that there is something beyond  money in the path I chose. There was the opportunity to help change women's lives, to impact positively in others, to use my skills/gift/talent for good. I had to remember the spark igniting in these ladies' eyes to motivate me; that's what kept me going. The ladies' words of joy where the cherry on top.

When I felt stuck, I would stop, reassess what I was doing, where was I failing, ask for feedback and try again. Tweaking here and there, changing this and that, Reveal Your True Beauty has become stronger in one year than in the 3 years I was playing business owner in lukewarm waters.

Founding My Happy Place:

Since I know my husband, he's been a spokesman about finding your happy place. His is a beach and he'll think of it on stressful times, picturing the breeze, the sun heat and the sound of waves and it does indeed make him happy and relaxed. But it didn't work for me. I couldn't picture anything that would bring me to that estate. I would say it was my home for the sake of saying something. 

However, reflecting on 2014 for the last couple of weeks I have finally found my happy place and is photographing women. It really is! I know every session we have will be fun, filled with laughs, new relationships and growth and as I go through the photos on my computer and work on them I find myself with a frozen smile and honestly happy to meet every single one of my clients and being able to bring joy into their lives as well. I daydream of the reveal appointments wondering how will they react when they see their photos and hoping it changes their lives for good. So it comes as no surprise that I find solace in my happy place when I feel down or stressed.

Jaimie, one of the wonderful ladies I photographed at the beginning of the year told me a week ago that her photo session with me is the only one she remembers having fun. It's so overwhelmingly beautiful how those words warm my heart! Comments like that feed my passion for what I do and help me to keep on walking.

"Jaimie, one of the wonderful ladies I photographed at the beginning of the year told me a week ago that her photo session with me is the only one she remembers having fun".

The Coming of 2015:


There has been a lot of work put into my business and there is still a lot of work to do as well, but my dreams are being unfolded in front of me in even better ways that I imagined, what a blessing! The scary leap of faith has become a wonderful adventure in which I have found freedom to be who I am (silly and all with my little happy jumps), met amazing people and help others, one person at a time.

Reveal Your True Beauty was born from the heart and it will continue to be that way. Each session is indeed a celebration of you and the great beauty of your soul as others and me see it. And it's catching on! Sessions are being booked all the way to April as we speak with ladies coming from in and out of Calgary to be photographed; such a humbling and beautiful thing.

A heartfelt thank you to those of you who have trust me to reveal to you your true beauty, to those of you who will trust me to reveal it and to those of you who join in the celebration. I hope you find your happy place too in loving what you do and who you are.

THANK YOU!

Revealing Chantal: The True Beauty Of A Small Business Owner

Hair And Makeup by Kada Issa from Bombay Beauty Loft, Fashion Styling by Studio Intent Boutique

Chantal Barchard. I'm sure many of you know her. She's the amazing lady behind Studio Intent Boutique. Yes, the same one that styles all the amazing ladies that have been in front of my camera so far. It was about time we revealed her true beauty too, right?

She is indeed an amazing woman; kind, generous, poise, always looking amazing and elegant in everything she does and one of my favourite things, she stands to her word. You can trust that she'll do as she says (I love that because I'm the same and feels sometimes like is hard to find that nowadays); very trustworthy. She's been such a big supporter of Reveal Your True Beauty! And I want to share with you the story:

I've been a photographer for 10 years now; ten years! Makes me feel old hahaha! And I began my photography business in Canada in 2011. But it was this year that I pushed the reset button for my business and started putting all my attention on my new baby: the Reveal Your True Beauty Project. I needed to spread the word to all women in Calgary, but how? So an idea came to mind; reach out to local boutiques and give them 5 sessions to gift their clients, free of charge. Only 3 would get this offer. The intention was to help them market themselves, increase sales, and spreading the word of what I do would tag along. My "sample" work were pictures of my mom and a close friend. I had an impeccable presentation and my fashion portfolio to show as well. Of all the boutiques I reached out to (and it was a lot of boutiques), only Chantal agreed to meet with me and she understood the concept, the passion behind it and the opportunity of giving something special and meaningful to 5 of her clients. The rest, as you can see, is history. 

I find it very interesting how someone's decision can create a ripple effect. Have you been aware of it in your life? Have you noticed that word, that drop that falls out of your mouth or others and transforms your life... or others'? Isn't that amazing??

I'm grateful beyond words for getting to know her and sharing in the adventures this year have brought, but specially for those seconds when she said "Yes" to my project. I support her work too, because it is made with great intention behind, just like the name of her boutique and with a passionate heart for what she does; you can feel it as you walk in her store. As all our clients have experienced, and I'm sure you agree, going to her boutique is like walking inside your dream closet and play dress up. Picture it. That's how fun it is!

So thank you Chantal for putting your trust in me but most of all for how amazing and awesome you are. There's definitely not two like you; I'm happy you are part of my life now. A truly beautiful person on the inside and outside.

Have you met Chantal? Share her awesomeness on the comments; it's a great opportunity for you to celebrate her too!

A Storyteller With A Camera

Special thanks to Serena from Italy for this beautiful illustration!

It has taken a significant amount of people telling me the same thing the last couple of months for me to finally get it. I'm a storyteller.

My brother wrote a comment on one of my blog posts:

"Is wonderful how you write, you've always had the 

gift to show the world in a beautiful way regardless of  

the medium."

- "Fela, didn't you know this already?! Is kind of obvious!".

I know, I know. But first let me explain why it took so long to hit me. I'm a bit of a weird combination; I can be very creative (out of the box) but at the same time be IN the box, full on. Which I've been told is rare for an artist. My head is processing storytelling and portrait as 2 different things:

- Storytelling goes in my procrastinated box of "Writing"

- True Beauty goes in my current box of "Photography" 

Therefore, since it has been categorized, in my head, Storytelling is not part of the same box where Portrait goes, so is dismissed. I can be non-artistic like that...

But put me inside the Writing box or the Photography box and my imagination and creativity goes wild, jumping into an infinite world of possibilities; kind of a Narnia effect (the world inside the wardrobe).

So, I was completely oblivious to it, but people kept saying it and Storytelling started planting a seed in my Photography box and a lot of things started making sense, and my Photography world expanded more; kind of the world of Fantastica in "The Never-ending Story": the more you imagine, the bigger it gets (yeah... I'm applying my book geekiness right now if you have noticed...).

"If you were doing this unconsciously already, what's the difference now and why should I care?"- You may ask.

Well my friend, it makes a HUGE difference! 

First, it's a conscious decision now, which makes me more attentive to telling your story when I photograph you. I'll be able to discover and reveal more of your amazing self.

And second, but most importantly, I'll be able to tell YOU your story. I'll be able to tell you how amazing, strong and smart you are. I'll be able to tell YOU how, despite all the hardship in your life, you have been able to conquer it all and stand victorious in front of me with the courage (that is not found so easily) to make yourself vulnerable to me and my camera so that I may see it all and show it to you so that YOU may look at yourself and FINALLY realize, that you are standing pretty good in life, that God has shaped you into an AMAZING woman, that your body is just the shell that contains all your awesomeness and THAT my friend is not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all.

Revealing Marnie: The Impersonation Of Goodness

Hair and Makeup by Kada from Bombay Beauty Loft. Styling by Cherry Chic Designs

The day of Marnie's Reveal Your True Beauty session had started with the wrong foot for me. I was not feeling well emotionally and was very worried about it affecting the overall of her session. How could I bring out the beauty in her if I was struggling with an emotional overcast? I was worried she would feel uncomfortable because I was uncomfortable with myself that day.

I had read her form of course, and what I read gave me the hope that her presence would ease the pain. And on my way to meet with her I kept praying like a mantra to forget about myself and make it all about her, it was not about me.

When she arrived it was like a ray of sunshine with her big, beautiful and sincere smile, so excited to do her session. Marnie is a lady you would love hanging out with or just being near her. She has this comfortable energy you want to dwell in.

All about who she is smiles, absolutely all of it; and what a sincere smile it is! A smile full of absolute joy. As if God had answer my prayers, I was happy and had an amazing time that made me forget about my sadness that day. In fact, when I mentioned it to Marnie, she couldn't believe it. "You seemed so happy that day that I would have never guessed you were struggling" was what she said. My reply was "yes, I WAS happy, thanks to you. You are one amazing lady!".

           

As someone close to her mentioned in the form:

"Marnie is an incredibly energetic, dedicated, driven, strong minded beautiful woman. Her aura is amazing!"

I am convinced this is true.


But let's see what Marnie has to say about her Reveal Your True Beauty experience:

"In June of this year I had the very special honour of working with Fela 

Photography for a "makeover" session. Greeted by Fela in a lovely, fun, 

supportive atmosphere at Bombay Beauty Loft I had my makeup done for the 

first time in 15 years, by amazing Kada, slipped on my gorgeous Cherry Chic 

Design dress from Valrie, then Fela worked her magic. She made me 

feel instantly sparkly and beautiful. Fela has this spirit of 

mischief coupled with sincere delight and passion for her craft. She worked to 

help me with poses and bring out my best, and it was so much fun. We laughed 

during the whole session and it comes through on the photos. When it 

came time for the "reveal" I was taken back by how beautifully they turned out 

and the quality of what Fela created. I am so sincerely grateful to 

have had this opportunity and I would highly 

recommend not only Fela, but also experiencing a 

Reveal Your True Beauty session. It was a blast!"

     

What I've Learned From You So Far

I little context to today's post:

Though you might not believe it, I'm actually quite the introvert and sometimes even shy (specially in group setting where I barely know people or don't know anybody at all). For an introvert, investing our energy in others is a hard and exhausting task, that's why we have to learn to pick wisely; if you have our attention is because we believe every second of it is absolutely worth it. I love this comic explanation of what's an introvert; totally nailed it.

Now, on with the tale...!

It feels weird for me to call "client" the people I photograph. Yes, there's a financial transaction between us because that's what I do for a living, but each person also brings invaluable things to my life.

As I have mentioned many times before not only through my blog but through my social media and interviews, every session builds a connexion; I learned to know each one because there's a level of trust that we built before, during and after your session. It's my natural way to find and see the beauty that lies within you. Though I won't know absolutely everything about how your life is, I know who you are as a person. Every time I get a chance to see you again or talk or write fills me with joy, because I value your company and your presence even when is only your name popping up on my inbox. So in short, the people I photograph fill my life with positivism, light and motivation to keep doing what I do because meeting you has been an amazing journey in itself.

Though I strive to be able to show you how amazing you truly are I also have learned from you. Each interaction I've had with the people I photograph makes me feel a little more comfortable to put myself out there and interact with others; kind of a silly reassurance that people "don't bite" hahaha! 

I'm getting more comfortable at initiating a conversation with strangers. Even on my way to the park with my son, I have found myself short-talking to random people on the street! Believe me, I always thought that would never happen ("beautiful dog, is my favourite breed!""What a beautiful apple tree you have; love all the fruit hanging from it!"). There's still a lot of work to be done, but I wanted to let you know that your presence in my life, even if it was for 2 hours that day I photographed you, is teaching me a lot. I'm learning to breakout from those "social fears" that were stopping me from being more me and I'm grateful.

I'm grateful because the simple exercise of seeing beauty in you, is helping me to see it everywhere too. It's going on autopilot now and I'm embracing it all because is making my life brighter and better. And by making my life brighter and better, I'll be able to bring a bit of sunshine to others as well. A cyclic motion I guess.

I once heard that in order to love someone, you have to understand them first. Practicing this philosophy with your help has proven it right. Thank you!

I want to leave you with this:

Real beauty is found in the heart and the mind of a person, giving fruit to goodness that impacts the world and the people around them. Is that which leaves a positive mark, an impression on everything it touches therefore, making everything it touches beautiful as well. So in other words, thank you for making me beautiful too. 

Big hugs!

Revealing Marlene: Beauty In The Silence

HMUA: Kada from Bombay Beauty Loft    STYLING: Valrie from Cherry Chic Designs

When I get to photograph someone out-of-the-blue for a Reveal Your True Beauty Experience, it's like a present you know is coming: the giddiness of it all is awesome, wondering how it'll be, who is she and barely able to wait for the date to do it. 

Even though we emailed back and forth with Marlene, she was very business-like through all of the messages, going straight to the point. When I read her interview form, it didn't reveal much of her either so being the curious lady I am, and she being a mystery, I was VERY looking forward to meeting this person and understand all the secrecy in her.

I'll be honest, she was a tough shell at the beginning. Marlene wasn't talking much and I was starting to worry wondering how to get her inner beauty to show when she was guarding it with all her might?

But she did open up and told me her story which I'm sorry to disappoint you but I won't share it here, simply out of respect; it's not mine to tell. Some stories are and some aren't, and Marlene is a wonderful lady whom I'm sure would love to keep it to just the people close to her. It's nothing atrocious in any way, it'll definitely leave you admiring this woman but understanding who she is made me feel it was better to keep it that way.

I can tell you this: When she opened up it was beautiful; you could feel her tension go away and her kindness come out. She started talking and sharing her stories about being a school bus driver; she truly enjoys what she does and you can see it in her eyes as she talks. The more we talked, the more I started to see a little smile coming out more and more often, until her eyes wouldn't stop smiling. When we finish her session and I said "all done!" she was so comfortable, she stayed in her place for quite a while. I had to come to her, gently touch her shoulder and tell her that we were done. It made me so happy to see her THAT happy and comfortable. You could tell this meant a lot to her and I was very grateful to be able to give her that moment.

In her own words, this is what her experience was:

"Fela captured the real me in her photos. She helped me to show different facial expressions and in so doing was able to make the photos much more interesting. I have never been comfortable as the subject and she helped me have fun and enjoy the experience. Thanks so much Fela!"

I loved her reveal because of her reaction. She was literally taken aback and was speechless; it was a very emotional moment for her. But she was happy... and proud of herself. She came out of it walking a bit taller that day. And me? With a warm heart and the joy of knowing she was able to discover her true beauty.

Aren't those eyes simply gorgeous??